Lighting fixture



6, 949 F. c. BAKER 2,490,191

LIGHTING FIXTURE Filed May 10, 1947 I INVENTOR. FR EDERIC K C. BAKER ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 6, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LIGHTING FIXTURE Frederick C. Baker, Portland, Oreg.

Application May 10, 1947, Serial No. 747,251

2 Claims.

This invention relates in general to lighting fixtures suspended from the ceiling, and, in particular, to lighting fixtures in which fluorescent lighting tubes are used.

More specifically, this invention relates to fluorescent lighting fixtures which are mounted close to the ceiling and which have a glass shade covering substantially the entire fixture and screening the fluorescent tubes from view while permitting the desired difiusion of light through the shade and from the fixture.

One of the main problems presented by a fixture of the type above indicated concerns the matter of mounting the shade in such manner as to permit easy access to the fluorescent tubes when these require removal or replacing. In many fixtures of this type it is necessary to remove the glass shade entirely from the fixture before access can be had to the lamps. Obviously this causes inconvenience and not infrequently results in the dropping or breaking of the shade. In other fixtures, in order to avoid the necessity for the entire removal of the shade, the shade is made in separate sections, thus, for example, the shade is composed of separate side glass panels which may be individually hinged or otherwise attached to the fixture. However, this means of solving the problem necessitates the displaying of considerable metal on the fixture in order to provide suitable mountings for the separate glass panels and does not permit the use of a shade com ris ng a single unit and presenting an unbroken cylindrical surface and does not permit a unit shade to be used which subtantiallv covers the entire fixture and restricting the visible metal portion of the fixture only to the end portions.

, An obiect of this invention is to provide a fluorescent li hting fixture in which a single glass shade is used. the shade present ng a more or less cylindrical surface, and in which the shade can be swung to open position to permit easy access to the lamps without requiring actual removal of the shade.

An additional obiect of this invention is to provide an improved ceiling light fixture having a sin le shade presenting a cylindrical surface, in which the shade will screen all the metal of the fixture from view, except at the ends of the fixture.

A further object of this invention is to provide a fluorescent lightin fixture suitable for mounting close to the ceiling which will permit of easy access to the fluorescent tubes. but which will enable all metal to be screened off by a translucent 2 unit shade, except at the ends of the fixture, and which will be simple and practical to manufacture.

The above objects and incidental advantages are obtained by my improved lighting fixture with the parts constructed and mounted as hereinafter briefly described. In the following description reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of the entire fixture, the view being taken from below the fixture, showing the shade in normal position and indicating, in broken lines, the position of the shade when lowered so as to permit free access to the lighting tubes;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation through one end of the fixture, taken on line 22 of Fig. 3, and also indicating, in broken lines, the location 01 the shade in open or dropped position;

Fig. 3 is a foreshortened side elevation of the ent re fixture;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section on line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section on line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the latching hook at each end of the fixture, this figure corresponding to a section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

My improved fixture is intended primarily to be mounted close to the ceiling. and the ceiling line is indicated by the line C in Figs. 2 and 3.

body portion of the fixture comprises a hollow housing In having a vertical wall I I at each end and a pair of-rectan ular side walls 12 connecting the end walls. The 'two end walls I! are identical and 'the sha e of these end walls is shown clearly in Fig. 2. The two side walls of the housing preferably slope upwardly and inwardly towards each other, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2.'so as to cause these side walls, and consequently as much of the housing H) as possible, to be hidden by the shade assembly of the fixture.

Suitable means (not shown) such for example as brackets with screw holes, are provided within the housing It! at the top, to enable this housing to be firmly secured to the ceiling in the desired location. Lamp sockets l3 for the respective ends of the fluorescent lighting tubes I 4 are mounted within the end walls H, and the usual wiring elements and the electrical connections (not shown), are located and supported within the housing I 0. The bottom of the housing in is open. I I v The single glass shade 15, which constitutes a.

very important and desirable part of the entire lighting fixture, is preferably in the shape of a portion of a cylinder, and, if desired, may even be semi-cylindrical. Thus the shade 15 can present a smooth or fluted cylindrical surface, constituting the exposed bottom face of the shade, and will give an uninterrupted light diffusing surface and the shade determines largely the general desired design of the entire fixture.

The shade I is supported at each end in an end plate is. The end plates [6 are made of metal, finished in any desired manner, or, if preferred, these end shade supports could be made of any other opaque and suitably strong material. Each end plate or shade support l6 has a main vertical wall, preferably in the shape of a segment of a circle to correspond with the cross sectional outline and dimension of the glass shade l5, and has a horizontal flange I! extending inwardly from the arcuate bottom edge of the .vertical wall, which flange serves as a rest and support for that end of the glass shade IS. The upper ends of each flange [1 are turned inwardly and are formed into caps 18 (Fig. 2), fitting over 'the upper edges of the glass shade l5 so as to prevent the shade from slipping sideways on the supporting flanges l1.

The width of the shade at the top, that is to say, the distance across between its top parallel edges, is considerably greater than the corresponding width of the housing I0 at its widest .portion, as apparent from Figs. 1 and 2. This fact, and the fact that when the shade is in its normal position the top edges of the shade are quite close to the ceiling, combine in enabling the single shade IE to screen the housing ;l0 almost entirely from view except for a very jsmallportion of the housing end walls II. This feature adds considerably to the attractive and pleasing effect desired and produced by my improved fixture. The top edges of the end plates [6 are correspondingly considerably longer than the'width of the housing I0.

The end plates or shade supports I6, as shown in Fig. 1, are mounted on the outside of the housing end walls H respectively and cover considerable lower portion of these end walls. Each end plate [6 is thus mounted on the outside of the adjacent housing end wall I I and is supported in spaced relation thereto by a pivot pin l9. The pivot pin I9 is secured to the end wall Hand extends horizontally outward'through a hole provided in the plate l6. Preferably I make the pivot pin l9 in the form of a specially shaped screw, as shown in Fig. 5, having a reduced threaded inner end portion I9 designed to be screwed tightly in a threaded aperture in the housing end wall II, and with an outer enlarged head extending over a portion of the outer face of the end plate IS. The enlarged head of the screw pin I9 is preferably formed also with a screw driver slot or recess to facilitate the setting of the screw pin in place and also to facilitate the removing of the pivot pin when the entire shade assembly, including the plates I6, is to be removed from the housing [6. The pin [9 could also be welded or riveted to the end wall H and its outer end threaded and provided with a suitable nut, if this is preferred, but I believe the form of the pin shown in Fig. 5 to be very practical.

For holding the pivotally mounted end plates l6, and therewith the glass shade [5, in normal raised or closed position I provide a hook element pivotally mounted on the inside of each of the end plates. Such hook element is shown 4 more clearly in Fig. 6. The hook element 20 is so arranged as to cooperate with a stationary pin 2|, carried by the corresponding end wall ll of the housing. Preferably the hook element 20 is also formed with a top flange or shoulder 22 so that the hook can more easily be engaged by the finger of the person desiring to set the hook into engagement with the pin 2| when the shade is fastened in normal closed position. To open or lower the shade all that is required is a slight upward push on the shade which will result in the two hooks 20, one at each end, being pushed out of engagement with their respective pins 2| and thus permitting the shade to swing down.

Should it be desired to remove the shade entirely from the fixture this of course can easily be accomplished by unscrewing the pins I9.

Since theend plates is are considerably wider acrossthan the end walls ll of the housing It), the hole in each end plate 56 through which the pivot pin l9 extends must be located at some distance in from the nearest extreme outer tip of the plate Hi. The pivot pin I 9 and the hole in the plate l6 through which the pin extends should of course be so located that when the shade assembly is in normal position the side edges of the shade will be equally spaced from the corresponding sides of the housing l0. Thus the proper location of the pivot pin I9 at each end of the fixture is determined to some extent by the size of the shade compared to the size of the housing 10, and by the desired spacing between the top edges of the shade and the ceiling. Also, as apparent from Fig. 2, the distance of the pin H! from the nearest outer tip of the end plate 16 must be less than the vertical distance between the pin [9 and the ceiling, so that when the shade assembly is permitted to swing down to the open or lowered position, as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 2, the upper edge of the shade and the upper tips of the supporting end plates IE will swing in an are which does not intercept the plane of the ceiling.

Thus with my invention it is possible to have a unit shade with a cylindrical surface, the shade being mounted close to the ceiling, and the shade screening the lamps and most of the metal portion of the fixture from view, and at the same time permitting unbroken dilfusion of the light downwardly. In addition to these desirable features which have considerable bearing upon the pleasing and artistic appearance of the entire fixture, my invention makes possible quick and easy access to the lamps without any danger of breaking the shade when the shade is dropped to open position.

The use of pivot pins in place of the customary piano type hinges for attaching the plates or shade supports Hi to the housing 18 has several advantages. Thus this arrangement obviates the necessity of extending the housing end walls ll out to one side in order to furnish the necessary support for such hinges, and it dispenses with the extra hinge metal which would be visible from the outside of the fixture. Also this arrangement facilitates the entire removal of the shade assembly from the fixture whenever this is desired.

Various modifications could of course be made in the design and construction of the different members of the fixture, for example,'in the design of the end plate It, without departing from the principle of my invention, but I consider the simple form in which I have illustrated the design of the various members of my improved fixture to be preferable.

I claim:

1. In a fluorescent lighting fixture adapted to be suspended in horizontal position from a ceiling, end housing members, fluorescent lighting tubes mounted between said end members, a pair of end shade supports pivotally mounted on the outside of said end housing members respectively for swinging in substantially vertical planes, the pivotal mounting for each of said end shade supports including a pivot pin connecting said shade support with the corresponding end housing member, said pivot pins located at one side of the center of said end housing members, said end shade supports extending out beyond the side edges of said end housing members and said pivot pins located inwardly from the nearest extreme outer tip of their respective end shade supports, but the distance of said pivot pins from said extreme outer tips being less than the distance of said pins from the ceiling from which said fixture is suspended, whereby said end shade supports can swing downwardly without interference, means associated with each of said end shade supports and the corresponding end housing member respectively for holding the end shade support in raised position, said means including a hook and a cooperating element adapted to engage said hook, each of said hooks having a shank with an outwardly extending edge adapted to engage said element to cause said hook to be pushed away from said element when said side supports are pushed a slight distance above their normal raised position, and a single shade extending substantially the entire length of said fixture and supported at its ends by said end shade supports, said shade having a substantially cylindrical surface and the top edges of said shade'as Well as the extreme outer tips of said end shade supports extending beyond the sides of said housing when said shade is in normal raised position.

2. A fluorescent lighting fixture of the character described adapted to be suspended in horizontal position from a ceiling including a hollow housing, fluorescent lighting tubes mounted within said housing, said housing having vertical end walls and side walls sloping upwardly and inwardly, a pair of end plates pivotally mounted on the outside of said vertical end walls respectively for swinging in substantially vertical planes, the pivotal mounting for each of said end plates including a pivot pin connecting said plate with the corresponding end wall of said housing, said end plates extending out beyond the sides of said housing, said pivot pins located at one side of the longitudinal center of said housing, and said pivot pins located inwardly from the nearest extreme outer tip of their respective end plates, but the distance of said pivot pins from said extreme outer tips being less than the distance of said pins from the ceiling from which said fixture is suspended, whereby said end plates can swing downwardly without interference, means associated with each of said end plates and the corresponding vertical end wall of the housing respectively for holding the end plate in raised position, said means including a hook and a cooperating element adapted to engage said hook, each of said hooks having a shank with an outwardly extending edge adapted to engage said element to cause said hook to be pushed away from said element when said shade supports are pushed a slight distance above their normal raised position, and a single shade extending substantially the entire length of said fixture and supported at its ends by said end plates.

FREDERICK C. BAKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,329,435 Colucci Sept. 14, 1943 2,365,614 Winkler et al Dec. 19, 1944 2,418,926 Francis Apr. 15, 1947 2,431,656 Barker Nov. 25, 1947 

